The Sorceress
by Stylus of Gold
Summary: Ellanis Margaren was a Solar without purpose of her own. Walking a daggered road to an uncertain destination, will she be human by the end of it? Independent companion piece to The Queen.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1–Aftermath**

The town of Sungrove was neither in a grove nor all that sunny. To everyone in the town besides Elanus, the reason for this name was a mystery none could explain nor particularly cared about. However to Elanus the reason was clear: Sungrove had not always been an insignificant fishing town, no, Sungrove was once situated a couple miles away from where it was now, built on the solar demesne she was now in, which had apparently once been the site of a powerful manse. She now sat here, on the tall green grass, in what could perhaps be called a grove but was really just four oddly-shaped, slightly reflective petrified trees whose branches were in pattern reminiscent of laurels, shields, horns and spears, standing in a square formation in the middle of an extremely sunny meadow. Here, in between the four trees, one was where the sun was shining strongest and where the demesne's power was most palpable.

Elanus' father king Olsef owned this land, but only in name. None could live here, none could tame this place. Until now. Now at last, in the backwater fishing village of Sungrove, a thaumaturgist of surpassing talent had arisen: Elanus herself! She would attune herself to this demesne –the most powerful demesne in the Nexus satrap– with her geomancy because she was that brilliant! She would tap into it's power and awaken her Essence with it, and damn them all for telling her that "It's dangerous" or "Crazy to try that ritual on yourself". Everyone at the college said she was "the most talented thaumaturgist we've seen in years" not to mention "a true genius" and she'd been offered positions as apprentice to some thaumaturgists for free (a practically unheard of accomplishment in Nexus) but she wanted to go further.

After she attuned herself to the demesne, she'd go to the Blessed Isle, study at the Heptagram and then return here and show them what real magic was! She'd show those damn Dragon-bloods, nay she'd show the world that with enough brains and hard work (plus a little excess energy) even a mortal could become a sorcerer! Sure (to her knowledge) it had never been done before, but she knew she could do it because she knew she was special.

She was in a magic circle she'd made with white pebbles, with four lines she'd also made tracing the dragon lines which intersected where she sat to the trees. The trees had geomantic runes brushed onto them with great care, and above each of them were the caste marks of the solar exalted, also known (but not by Elanus) as the Anathema: Dawn, Zenith, Twilight and Night, with the circle Elanus now sat in patterned after the crowned sun of the Eclipse. This way she would tap into the power of the solar demesne and not be fried by the energies (mortal bodies were not meant to withstand that sort of energy, after all).

She began chanting in Old realm. Her eyes rolled up into her skull. She was in a trance, half-hypnotized by her own spell, but still in control. She felt power rush into her as she chanted,the geomancy of the demesne filling her up, suffusing her.

Then something happened. She was too inexperienced so she didn't see the warning signs that the ritual was failing, and not in a way which one could retry. No, she'd awakened a force more within the demesne yet greater than the demesne by far: a seal placed in an older time by one much like herself to keep in a power that no-one wanted to escape, a seal built to last forever but fatally flawed, a seal which needed only a disruption in the demesne to break.

And her botched ritual had given it a disruption in the demesne more than strong enough to break free, but in so doing trap her in a net of eldritch force: the powers of dragon lines, thaumaturgy, the incarnae, fate and sorcery all combined into one roiling storm of energy, and before Elanus knew what was happening she was lifted off her feet and, so far as she could tell, turned into sunlight.

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She awoke face down in the tall yellow grass, four crystalline trees around her. She got up, dusted herself off. Well, she thought, what an odd dream, but she felt… different. As if she'd been infused with great power. Then my ritual worked! she thought, I am master of the demesne! and, laughing, she nearly skipped back to where she'd tied her horse up. However, she found that the horse had ran off and, snorting in disgust but still unable to contain her pride and elation, walked on home through the nigh-trackless meadows, though she knew enough to find her way back.

Walking towards Sungrove, she could not help but wonder why the meadows looked so trampled and why there was a snapped lance sticking out of the ground in front of her. Fearing the worst, Elanus practically ran back home.

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Sungrove was exactly how she'd left it the day before: fishing boats out on the lake which fed into the great river, people walking around the streets… and something which hadn't been there yesterday: plague doctors. Two of them, dressed in the heavy black garments and beaks which spelled doom to a town. They entered a house which, until now, Elanus hadn't noticed had boarded up windows, and closed the door behind them with an ominous thudding sound.

Walking, stunned, through the streets, Elanus approached her father's house. It was a big tall house with rooms by the dozen right in the middle of the town. It had a red tiled roof, grey ashlar walls and a fine green maple door. Windows could be seen on the second story, square windows partitioned into four parts which one couldn't see anything in, at least not from the angle which Elanus was standing.

Flinging open the door and rushing in, Elanus was greeted by the stunned face of the household maid, Rebecca. Rebecca was a short, tanned woman with brawny arms and a round face. She stood there for a moment, staring at Elanus, and then asked, in a somewhat disbelieving voice "E…Elanus? Is that… you?"

Elanus was taken aback by Rebecca's incredulity, but responded "Yes, it is. Who did you think it was?"  
Oh thank all the gods!" Rebecca cried out, though Elanus could not dicern why she'd used such a strong (And technically heretical, but no-one listened to the Immaculates anyway) oath.  
"Are you alright?" Rebecca asked, and, not waiting for Elanus to answer, followed it up with a storm of questions: "Where have you been? It was Cole's men, wasn't it? Did they hurt you? Oh gods, that means you're queen now, aren't you?"

That last one caused Elanus' world to spin. If she was queen, wouldn't that mean that her father was… dead?  
"Wait, wait, wait," said Elanus, "What exactly happened?"  
Rebecca grew pale. At that moment, Elanus' friend Davian Erazmus the physician showed up. He was a mousy, unassuming man of short stature and pale blond hair. He was quite intelligent (though not as brilliant as Elanus) and made for good company. Right now, however, most of his body was concealed by the heavy fabric of a plague doctor's outfit, with only his face exposed and the mask held in his left hand.  
"Elanus!" he sighed in what appeared to be relief, embracing her, "I thought we'd lost you."  
"I'm sorry," said Elanus, breaking away, "what are you all talking about? I have only been gone for a day, at the most."  
Erazmus looked at her incredulously, slowly saying "Elanus… you've been gone for four months… there was a war. Your… your father's dead."

_No. It can't be. I couldn't've been gone for months. That doesn't just happen! _Elanus thought, _Getting trapped in a demesne is a myth! It's impossible! It can't happen!_  
_Unless… unless you go out alone into a high-level demesne and try to channel it. They told me anything could happen if I tried that… but I went about it anyway. And I failed! I, Elanus Margaren, failed! How?!_

"Why?" Elanus choked out. "Your father thought," began Davian, "that you'd been taken by King Cole. That he was going to use you to help him take over. And so… he launched a rescue effort to castle Betancuria before he could attack. And it failed. Then Cole attacked, and your father led the other kings; Cecil and Arthur; against him. We won… but it was hard, and your father. Then the plague hit. We've done well to fight it; Kings Torm and Arthur have sent doctors, but…"  
She pushed past him, trying to get upstairs to her chambers. flinging open here door, she barked "Get out!" to the servant there and flung herself onto the bed. She cried for thirty minutes, absorbed in her own failure and loss, before having another coherent thought. This is weak, she told herself, you are queen now. And queens have to be hard. Harden your heart. and, miraculously, it was so. She did not know how she did it, but she staunched the tears and got up, her will as hard as steel. She knew she was something more now: the ritual had worked.

In that moment, she decided she would leave for a time. Sungrove would recover without her, and she still had every intention of being a sorcerer and damn them all if they tried to stop her! She was their queen and they'd thank her when she showed them her power and made all their enemies quake in fear.

She got her horse from the stable, put on her reinforced buff coat, packed her bags, got her bow and arrows and headed out. The road to sorcery stretched out before her; long and treacherous, but she would get to the end of it, and woe betide any who would try to stop her!

* * *

AN: This is a concept which I had a little while ago: Why not put down the more awesome backstories and games I do with my friends on ? (obviously rewritten to be more dramatic and coherent and blah blah blah) if it goes well, I may continue and even do it again sometime. Note that in my game Nexus was conquered by the Realm and then every little landowner around it started calling themselves kings due to the Realm wanting a king of Nexus to puppet (much easier than having to puppet individual landowners!)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2–Humility**

Elanus rode east, further and further. She passed Betancuria, from which apparently King Cole had marshalled the army which had killed her father, out of the Nexus satrapy boarders and into the wilderness

Stopping for the night, Elanus pitched her tent and rolled out her bedroll. Lying down on hard earth, she longed for the featherbed of home. Nonetheless, she told herself that if she was going to become a sorcerer, she'd have to get used to sleeping outdoors, but that thought hardly helped her sleep. She tried mnemonic after mnemonic, but her mind would not stop racing. She felt more brilliant than ever before; problems which had seemed insurmountable before now appeared elementary to her. She remembered back to her days at the university, where even senior students had been baffled by her intellect. Now, backed by her even greater genius, how could she possibly do anything but triumph? One way or another, her ritual had worked!

But it had also failed. Failed so spectacularly, she reflected, that it had caused a war, cost so many lives, including that of her own father! I will never fail again, she told herself, and kept telling that to herself, lying awake in her bedroll, until, hours later, she slipped into sleep.

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She dreamed that he was in a dark, dank room, hiding from the world. He was shut in a room, trying so desperately to invent something, anything, some spell, some gadget, that would let him escape. He looked at his daiklave, looked at the door. Tears stung his eyes. _Is this the end? Am I going to die here?_

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Elanus awoke with a sore back and a messed-up neck. She saw the sun rising and didn't want to get up. She wanted to sleep, but she definitely didn't want to sleep here. Getting up, Elanus packed up, got on her horse and directed it to go down the road, her eyes already drooping.

She awoke with a jarring, horrid pain. She'd fallen from her horse. The pain was terrible, but she forced herself up and saw that her horse hadn't fled from her. That was lucky at least. After a few minutes, she hobbled back onto the horse, the pain subsiding. Good, she thought, nothing broken. I am not doing that again!

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She rode on and on and east to Great Forks, further and further, passing by the towns and minor city-states that dotted the Scavenger Lands along major trade routes. She wished to speak with Talespinner, and besides that was sure she'd have to go somewhere away from home if she wished to complete the journey part of initiation into sorcery: she'd already been humbled by her crushing failure (From now on she would be cautious in all things) and tutelage would come soon.

Days passed. She usually spent her nights in inns and taverns and more than once had to move to the other side of the room as patrons tried ogled over this attractive, strange foreigner. She grew to appreciate the amenities she had at home: good, hot food, soft beds, a respectful populace and clean clothing. Nonetheless, she inexplicably felt as if she were on top of the world: completely unstoppable.

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Mighty Great Forks stood before her. It was quite different from Nexus: much cleaner, more planned, and neither dilapidated nor full of canals. Rather like Betancuria, though it dwarfed Betancuria in size as Nexus in turn dwarfed Great Forks.

The walls were high and thick, made of tough ashlar and mortar and topped with a parapet which partially obscured the guards who stood atop the gatehouse, which contained a huge set of reinforced wooden doors which had been left open. As Elanus rode into the west quarter of the city amidst caravans and fellow travellers, she dropped a half-dinar into the bag of the toll collector at the gate.

Elanus rode further in, closer to the central district, where lights could be seen to light up the fast-approaching night. It was another Festival of Lights, apparently quite common in the City of Temples, though seldom seen in Sunnydale or Nexus.

Paying a quarter-dinar to have her horse stabled, Elanus entered the lavish central quarter of Great Forks; a complex of huge plazas wherein were built shrines, churches, temples and cathedrals of all descriptions, running the gamut from the small brick building devoted to Rafran, northern god of rivers to the huge white marble cathedral of the Unconquered Sun to the awe-inspiring palace-temple of The Three which dominated the entire city.

Elanus moved amongst the crowd, as the lights shone in from every direction in every colour and the crowd became enraptured by the various local gods performing their tricks. The Three would be in their palace at this point, only to come out at the height of the festival. She slowly pushed her way through, determined to get at the palace. Once she'd heard Talespinner's story, she'd surely know what to do next.

It was only when she actually approached the palace when she began to wonder how she'd get Talespinner to talk to her. Entering the huge palace doors, she waited in a relatively short line of supplicants to get to Talespinner's sub-palace, wherein she'd have to persuade the clerk to actually let her in.

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Two hours later, Elanus reached the clerk. She was annoyed. Very annoyed. She was a solar exalt trying to find her destiny, who were these mortals to delay her so with their desires for a divine solution to the tiny problems of their petty lives.

Approaching the clerk, Elanus said "I'd like to see Talespinner," to which the clerk replied "State the purpose of your request," sounding like nothing so much as a disinterested clerk who had said this same phrase hundreds of times a day for years, which was exactly what he was.  
"I wish to hear my story," said Elanus, to which the clerk robotically replied "Why should he see you?"

This was the question which prevented Talespinner from getting bogged down by so much storytelling. Few were those worthy of his time. Elanus paused for a moment and then, power welling up from within and channeling it into her voice, "Because I am queen Elanus from Nexus, and it would do well for Talespinner to take other rulers seriously!" she said from Nexus, not of Nexus, which would imply that she was the ruler of Nexus, but the from was said as an afterthought, a nigh-unnoticeable add-on to the otherwise passionate, challenging statement. Who was this clerk to deny her?! She was no-one, and Elanus was… she was Elanus Margaren! Thaumaturge, awakened, monarch, future sorcerer!  
The clerk shuffled off, apparently impressed, to tell Talespinner. He came back around two minutes later, saying "I am Sorry, he is fatigued. You may come back tomorrow and try again."

_Fatigued? He is… fatigued? He's a god! A god absolutely showered with worship! How can he just be fatigued? _thought Elanus, then decided that she didn't need any sort of prophecy and could get by on her own wits alone.

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Sitting in her room at the inn, she thought to herself _Why didn't he deign to see me? I'm a queen, a future sorcerer! It must be that he's just in a foul mood and feels like screwing with me._

A couple minutes later, it began to dawn on her: _What's a queen to a god? I'm queen, yes, but queen of Sungrove. And what's a queen who abandons her kingdom? I'm a thaumaturgist, yes, but there are thousands of thaumaturgists. I'm awakened, but what can I do with that? I'm not a sorcerer, not yet. Maybe I'm really not that important after all? Maybe he really is just tired and doesn't think I'm worth his time? I mean, he's a mortal-turned-god, and a damn powerful one at that. What am I to him?_

She thought to herself then, _I suppose I'll have to earn my respect through my actions then._ And in that moment, she realized that until now, she hadn't been truly humbled. Now, realizing that she was still in the little leagues and had a long way to go before she became truly important, not to mention realizing that the world was not, in fact, about her, she knew what it was to have humility.

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Riding east ever further, Elanus wondered where she'd find a teacher, and so began reading the dragon lines, looking for a manse. Sorcerers tended to reside in manses, and she'd have to find a teacher eventually.

Following the dragon lines, she trekked off into the plains, periodically using her Dragon Nest Compass ritual to try and locate a manse or demesne. Eventually, after two days of searching, she found one. It was a small, unassuming structure, more of a hole cut into a hill than a building. Dismounting and tying her horse up, Elanus approached the manse wearily, bow drawn.

She entered the hole, her nerves on edge, and travelled through a geomantically-perfect tunnel until, after a mere five meters, she reached a broadening which revealed the truth of this manse: it was not cut into the hill. It was the hill, an artificial hill created to channel the energy of an earth demesne. To make a manse none could detect without geomancy.

Within the central chamber was what appeared to be a complete and well-furnished home, with a brown rug, small bed, bookcase, table and a beautiful chair wherein sat a little old man smoking his pipe and reading a book.  
He looked up and gave a startled, high-pitched cry, nearly jumping out of his chair. "Who are you?" he asked in a squeaky voice, to which Elanus replied "I am Elanus Margaren. And you?"  
"I'd appreciate it," he said slowly, "if you'd put down that bow before we keep talking,"

Elanus knelt down and slowly put down her bow.  
"Excellent," said the man, "my name is Humphrey. Why have you come barging into my house?"  
"I'm looking," began Elanus, "for someone to teach me sorcery."  
A wide grin appeared on his face. "Well, you've found one. But why should I teach you? What manner of creature are you?"  
It was too perfect. Finding a sorcerer on her first try? It was unbelievable. And yet it had happened. Perhaps he had deliberately made his manse easily detectable, hoping a potential apprentice would find it. Perhaps she had just been lucky. Or perhaps destiny was real after all and she really had just happened to stumble upon a cloistered old sorcerer.

"Hello?" inquired Humphrey, "I asked you: what manner of creature are you?"  
"I believe," responded Elanus, "that I am an awakened mortal, but I'm not sure. The ritual failed and yet my Essence awakened anyways and… I feel very different now."  
"Hmph," said Humphrey, "Lemme check up on a few things…"

And he scurried away, looking through a bookcase, saying in his squeaky voice "I know how this sort of thing works. If the ritual failed then you should've been burned and your Essence definitely wouldn't've awakened–"  
"I was trapped inside the demesne," Elanus interrupted, and Humphrey stopped searching. He turned around slowly, asking "You were trapped inside a demesne and escaped? Without a scratch?"  
"Yes, I did," said Elanus, feeling a little weirded out by the way the old man was looking at her, all wide-eyed and awestruck.  
"Well then…" he said slowly, "the only was that could've happened is if… you were either a god or if you were… Exalted."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3–Goal: Achieved?**

After learning what she was, Humphrey was all too happy to teach Elanus sorcery. They began with talking about the technical aspects of Essence flow, and as it turned out Elanus' formal training in Geomancy left her far more knowledgable about Essence flows than Humphrey, and able to grasp the concepts of personal and peripheral Essence quite easily. Then, he began teaching her how to channel her Essence through her own body, which had the secondary effect of allowing her to project her Essence onto her skin to harden it; a potentially useful skill.

The weeks raced by, and according to Humphrey she was learning nearly ten times faster than he had. However, he said that was natural: being a Solar Exalted she supposed she'd have to get used to succeeding at everything (That was something she could get used to). The manse was better than sleeping outside, but nothing like what she was used to: there was only one bed and that was Humphrey's, and the rug plus sleeping bag combo she slept in was hardly the most comfortable, but at least it was better than sleeping outside. They spent most of their training outside, however, and with good reason! While experimenting with Essence flow, Elanus would occasionally cause… disturbances, which would have been quite disastrous indoors!

After she'd learned a few other charms allowing her to channel her Essence through her voice, Elanus began to learn sorcery in earnest. It was… odd. It could be likened to a combination of the regimented mystical rituals and exact science of thaumaturgy combined with the instinctual Essence shaping of Charm use.  
Though she could shape the sorcery within a mere two months of arriving, she could never complete it. Humphrey said that that was the hardest part of sorcery: releasing the spell. He assuaged her frustration and was generally quite affable and supportive throughout, though occasionally he'd interject with deeply personal questions like "What was the worst thing that happened to you?", which Elanus found difficult and uncomfortable answering. (The answer of course being when she'd botched so horribly it had started a war and gotten her father killed).

One day, Elanus awoke to find herself blind.

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Elanus blinked, wondering what had happened. She got up, hit her head. "Hello?" she called out, but no-one responded. She felt her way around, panic mounting in her. Then the memory started to come back to her. She'd been experimenting with sorcery, trying to find a new spell… and her spell had blown up in her face. Literally. It had succeeded: she was a sorcerer, but she was blind for it. "Humphrey? Humphrey?!" she screamed out, desperation mounting in her. She remembered him being with her… had she killed him too in her pursuit of power?

"It's all right," she heard a resonant, reassuring voice tell her, "It's all right."  
"But…" she said, "What happened?"  
"Your spell backfired. You are blind, Humphrey is dead. What will you do now?"

_What will I do?  
What the hell will I do?  
I've FAILED! How the hell did I fail at sorcery?! Even as an Exalt, can I not do anything right?  
And Humphrey… he helped me. He asked for nothing in return except the knowledge that I would put my sorcery to good use. And how did I repay him? By blowing him up!  
I guess I should give up…_

"I don't know. I've failed and I've crippled myself and killed Humphrey. I… I don't know."  
There was no response offered. She was left alone to her thoughts.

_Failure. How did I fail this badly? Hell, how could I fail worse than this?_

The minutes passed on by as she pondered that question.  
Eventually she came to it.

_How can I fail worse than this? By sitting here and wallowing in it. I failed. There! I said it! Now time to get on with my life!_

"What'll I do? I'll live. I'll get my eyes fixed somehow, I'll get on with my life and I will become a sorcerer. You know why? Because I'm a Solar Exalt, and more importantly I am Elanus Margaren, and Elanus does not just sit down and give up."

She got up, and opened her eyes. She was lying in her bedroll, with Humphrey standing over her next to a strange, tall man dressed in a robe of leaves, silk and clouds with hair made of quicksilver and crystalline, gleaming skin which shifted between the colours of the rainbow as he stood, his face of concentration fading.

"What?" Elanus asked flatly, completely flabbergasted and confused by this weird, stupefying, inexplicable turn of events.  
"This is my friend," said Humphrey in his squeaky voice, then took a deep breath "Ten Thousand Ships Sailing In Glorious Battle Over Scraps As Directed By The Doubly Enslaved King, Happy With His Slavery Yet Straining To Remove His Chains With Every Action," he paused again to regain his breath, "He's from Rakshasatan."  
"You can call me Rakshaman."

The farce of it all made Elanus chuckle, though it also made her even more confused. "What?" she demanded again, trying to understand what the hell a Raksha was doing here.  
"I," said the Raksha in a deep, resonant voice, "came here to give you a dream of your greatest fear: failure. Now that you have faced it, you may advance along your path. In exchange for this and various other services, Humphrey has given me shelter at his manse and a few favours which have proved most useful during my travels."

Elanus didn't know what to feel. Angry at being subjected to that? Furious at being deceived? She supposed it might be proper, but she couldn't help but feel thankful for Humphrey and… "Rakshaman" for helping her gain sorcery. She had to face her fears one way or another, why not in a dream?  
"Thank you," said Elanus, and Rakshaman said "You're welcome. Now, I believe there was one test left?"  
"Yes," said Humphrey, "the sacrifice. Elanus, you just sit here and think about sorcery, and what matters to you, and soon you'll be given a choice. You'll be asked if you want to give something up, and if you say yes you'll be a sorcerer. However, there is no turning back from that point on. Whatever you give up will be gone. Gone forever. You might get something else in it's place, with time, but it will never be the same as before. If you give up your finger, for instance, no healing magic will restore it, though if you graft on a new finger or something then it will work. Do you have any questions?"  
"No, I don't," said Elanus. Why should she? She had come this far, she wasn't about to shy away at the price.

She sat there, thinking of the things that mattered to her: her friend Erazmus. Her family. Her thaumaturgy. Her mind. Her dreams–

She heard a voice inside her head say "Your feelings for your family must go. They distract you from sorcery. She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether it was worth it. She felt as though her past was wrestling with her future: her family, both living and dead, were her roots; her tether to the past and to a the very concept of home. Would she be willing to sever that connection, destroy her concept of home, in exchange for sorcery: wings of power to fly into the future with and forge a new home?  
Then she said aloud "Done."  
It was no great loss: she'd never liked them anyhow, and they hadn't really meant that much to her. She wondered at… whatever it was that forced these sacrifices, and it's choice of something so trivial for her to give up in exchange for something so powerful.

Over the next month, she learned spell after spell: Emerald Countermagic, Stormwind Rider, Elemental Summoning, Obsidian Butterflies and Flying Guillotine. She hardly thought of her family, and honestly wondered why it was a sacrifice to get rid of any feelings she might have had for them (though she didn't remember having much feeling for them before and wondered why she had wept so at her father's death).

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Elanus had just finished learning Flying Guillotine (which for her took the form of a large chain-attached scythe, rather than the standard barbed chain), Humphrey came before her one day and said "Elanus, there's something I need to do. I've been putting it off for far far too long: I'm going to the east."  
"I can come with you."  
"No, I'm afraid you can't. This is something I must do, alone. I won't be back for a long time."  
Suspicion mounted in her, "You're going to your death, aren't you?!"  
He threw back his head and gave a high-pitched laugh, then said "No, I don't think so. I'm going to see my divine father."  
"And I can't come with you?"  
"No, you can't," he said flatly, "because I'm going to be dealing with some very difficult people who don't like solars. I'll come to you when I return. In the mean time, go home and use your powers, one way or another. I expect to see great things when I get back, Elanus! Great things!

And just like that, her apprenticeship was over. She'd achieved her ambitions, completed her goals. What was she to do now?

_Well first of all, I am to Stormwind on home, horse and all! (I'll have to stop a hundred miles or so from Nexus, I don't want to draw realm attention.  
Then… I suppose I'll research more spells! More powerful spells! I know that there are higher levels of sorcery available to the Solar Exalted, so that's what I'll do. Hell, I'll accrue all the power I can, hell I'm a Solar, why not accrue all the sorcerous power there is?  
What's stopping me from doing that? And then… well, at that point the world is practically mine and I can decide what I want to do then!_

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Elanus zipped back home, her horse thoroughly terrified at the prospect of Stormwind, but Elanus was thrilled. It had worked!  
Stopping about a hundred miles from Nexus (About fifty from home), she calmed her horse, mounted up and rode the last day back to Nexus. The whole journey took her a mere two days.

Once back, she was greeted by Davian, who demanded "Where were you? One moment you're here, the next, you're gone. What happened?"  
"I was visiting a friend," she explained evasively, "I needed to do it before I became queen," which was true. She wouldn't have been able to go on her journey to the east while ruling, but there was nothing preventing her from doing some research now that she was here. She had a short, unimpressive coronation and then immediately retreated into her study.

Within, she poured over book after book on geomancy and sorcery, as day after day passed by. In her obsession, she hardly noticed the duties of state she had to attend to..  
She also performed little experiments with spells and thaumaturgy; nothing too dramatic lest it reveal her.  
Then her captain of the guards came to her with an urgent message.

"Your majesty," he began, which had always irked Elanus: what right did some jumped-up "king" of Sungrove have to be called "your majesty"?  
She supposed that as a Solar she did have that right, but all the same! The arrogance of her father in declaring himself king was nothing short of unbelievable.  
"There is news. Terrible news. King Cecil is marching an army this way."

_Oh that stupid warmongering bastard! He probably hopes he can just roll right over us with no consequences, does he? What shall I do, I wonder…_

"He has not formally declared war, but I don't trust that man's motives. He has always been a loose cannon."  
"Good, you can go now."

She supposed there was no avoiding it. She'd have to give Cecil a bit of a scare, and to do that she'd have to use her sorcery.

So that night, she rode away from her home, bringing numerous reagents with her. Once well away from Sungrove, she got to work summoning a mighty Garda bird. She began by burning a set of incense to placate the least gods: they didn't like it when people summoned Garda birds, and appreciated the incense as both an offering and a heads-up. Then, she did a set of carefully planned out steps and said dozens upon dozens of short prayers to the least gods lest they mess it up. Then, once the incense had almost burned down, she took out a small wax candle and lit it with the burning coal at the end of the incense.  
By lighting progressively larger fires, she could create the proper environment for the summoning of the Garda Bird. She then prepared a pit and lit a fire of twigs and oregano with the candle, adding the wax to the fire. She then watched the fire until it had burned down to coals and, channeling copious quantities of Essence into it and calling out "I conjure the Garda from the ashes!" in Old Realm, poured a flask of lamp oil onto the hot coals.

The oil lit and exploded up, and out of it came a burning bird, half solid and half pure fire, with a burning corona of heat and flame surrounding it. It's feathers were covered in burning oil: a residue left over from it's summoning. For a moment, Elanus was awed by the beauty of the Garda in empress form. Then she imperiously commanded "Garda. I require your aid."  
"And who is it that calls me?" it asked in Old Realm.  
"I am Elanus Margaren, a sorcerer who requires but one simple task from you. You are to fly above my foes to the south in phoenix form–"  
"And detonate myself yes, I know the drill," and there was an unmistakeable edge of contempt in his voice as he said it, suggesting that she would have to engage him in the customary battle of wills to get him to do so.  
"Not at all. I wish you to give them a glimpse: to strike fear into their hearts so that they will suspect, but not be able to substantiate, that they march against supernatural forces. If they continue marching on me, simply swooping down and dicing their leader should suffice to rout them."  
"Very well, I shall do this for you, summoner. On one condition: that you do not summon me again."  
"Done," Elanus responded.  
There were other Garda birds to be summoned, and the summoning of such powerful elementals was nothing to be done on a whim anyways: they were immortal, highly mobile, powerful, vengeful and did not like being summoned.

As it shed it's beautiful empress feathers in favour of the terrifying display of the phoenix, as the arms sprouted from within it to grasp gleaming blades drawn from it's fiery corona which now intensified in heat to the point where the ground beneath it smouldered and threatened to burst into flames, Elanus was gripped with a moment of primal fear at the mere thought of angering such a powerful and terrifying creature. Then it leapt into the air, giving a shrill cry, and flew off to the south, towards king Cecil's warbands.

Faced with such a display of power, Cecil would doubtless abandon whatever plans he had for conquest and go home at the mere thought that Elanus might wield such power. However, if he were to report it to an Immaculate, then certain questions would be asked, certain men would be called, and Nexus might see a Wyld Hunt called down. If that were to happen… Elanus would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. There would be a way to evade them, of that she was sure. There was always something.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4–Circle**

A wandering warrior entered Sungrove. He'd been a general and now wandered in exile, facing foes and defeating them all. Ellanis decided to meet him.

She had him brought to her in private. He stood before her, a scarred veteran with a chiselled face, stubbly beard and a scar on his jaw. His hair was long and black, framing his face like a lion's mane. He wore a simple belted tunic and a straight, basket-hilted backsword at his side along with a small buckler. As he entered, he handed these off to the guard at the door.

"So who are you?" asked Ellanis. He had an odd presence about him, like she knew him but couldn't put her finger on it.

"I'm called Cotea," he responded in a gruff, gravelly voice, "Is that all you wanted to know?"

"No," Ellanis answered, "I also wanted to know a bit about you. Why do you wander?"

"I'm looking for an opponent or an employer. Either will do."

"Well, what can you do?" asked Ellanis, sure she knew the answer but wanting to know what he'd say nonetheless.

"I can fight and I can lead. I'd heard there was a war here and wondered if anyone wanted it won."

_That's unusual, _thought Ellanis, _making a claim like that right off the bat. Is he bold, foolish or naïve?_

"I'm afraid you've come a little to late to catch the war," Ellanis said slowly, cautiously, "but I am in need of someone to lead my forces. This whole region is a hotspot and there is a good chance it'll ignite soon enough. But how do I know you'll help me win?"

"I've got several victories under my belt," he replied, "and a long mercenary career too. Anyways, if you'll have me I'd like four things: somewhere to sleep, a new sword, decent pay and no questions asked."

_Really? That's how he's phrasing it?_

_He's practically screaming "I am an Exalt" at me! I mean, promising to just _winwars_ and then requesting "no questions asked"?_

_This man has no subtlety. I'll have to remember to keep him away from Immaculates._

"Done," she said, "now I'll find you a place to stay. I'll expect you to get settled as soon as possible."

Then Davian entered the room, looking anxious and saying "Ellanis, there's a bunch of Dragon-Blooded here. They say they want to talk to you."

"You'd best go," Ellanis told Cotea, "thank you Davian, I'll be with them in a minute."

When they came into her study, Ellanis was ready. She'd made an escape route in case things turned out bad, and had gotten her act prepared. "Good morning, gentlemen," she greeted them, dipping her head slightly to imply respect and deference but not submission.

"Yes, I'm sure," said the first. The three were quite different from one another. The first wore black immaculate robes, with a round shaved head, yellow sash and a tanned complexion. The second also wore immaculate robes, but his robes were blue, with the trimmings of an acolyte, his skin albino white and his eyes red. This one was shorter than the first, but the third towered over them both. He was clad in a red jade reinforced breastplate with spiky red hair and a block-like face.

"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" Ellanis asked formally. It was best to keep them on as good terms as possible and to be as non-confrontational as possible: they probably thought of Anathema as cocky, aggressive people and this would deflect suspicion.

"I," began the first, "am Mnemon Torogi, this is acolyte Sorin," he said, gesturing to the younger monk, "and this is winglord Cynis Takeshi of the 15th Legion," he concluded, gesturing to the hulking Fire Aspect.

"And what brings you to my humble abode?" she inquired, gesturing to the manor around her. It was a nice house, but nothing compared to where Dragon-Bloods lived on the Blessed Isle (whether the palace-manses of the great houses or the more-spartan-but-no-less-imposing monastery-manses of the Immaculate Order).

"An accusation of heresy against one of the residents of this town," said Torogi, but Ellanis knew better. Enforcing Immaculate doctrine was impossible in Nexus, nevermind Sungrove. A report of heresy amongst the peasantry of Sungrove would never merit Immaculate investigation. And even if they did send one, they would never also send a legion winglord with them.

No, they were investigating her, seeing if a Wyld Hunt was in order. That meant they'd already looked into her background and seen she was suspicious, or perhaps they'd gotten one of those thrice-damned prophecies the Immaculates sometimes got, or perhaps they'd been told about the Garda and come here.

No matter what though, if she couldn't prove she wasn't who they were looking for, she'd have to flee immediately to escape the Wyld Hunt. She'd heard the stories: scores of the most elite soldiers, sometimes in power armour (though she doubted they had those in a satrapy as poorly-maintained as Nexus) accompanied by a sworn brotherhood of Dragon-Bloods and lead by a team of veteran Immaculate monks. Her sorcery could not stand against such a foe, and so flight would be her best option if they came here in force.

Her best option now was guile and evasion. She'd have to move quickly to cover her tracks: though no mortal had seen her summon the Garda, but she didn't know about Dagon or the other local spirits. So she'd contact Dagon: he was extremely powerful, both respected and feared in the spirit courts and had always been a friend to her family, so she could use him to make sure any witnesses to her summoning were shut up. In the meantime, she told the monk "If there's anything I can help you with, I'd be glad to do so."

"I shall keep that in mind," said the monk with great courtesy and tact, but Ellanis saw something behind that, a suspicion or even premature hatred poorly concealed beneath the veneer of civility. _Well that settles it, _she thought, _If he gets even one whiff, he'll call a full Wyld Hunt down on me!_

––––––––––––––

Dagon's sanctum lay just outside his lake domain. He was a god from The West who had made his way here for unknown reasons, deposed the previous god of this lake and quickly became the most influential god in the local spirit courts, even holding some sway in the courts of Nexus proper. He'd allowed Ellanis and her father access to his sanctum for quite some time now, and had managed to keep said interaction secret from the Immaculate Order. She burned a small prayer strip, which was usually all it took for one of the royals to get an audience with Dagon.

Dagon materialized as a hulking figure, halfway between sea turtle and man, with a hard segmented shell on his back and leathery green skin. He was of hulking stature, and were he not perpetually hunched over would tower over Ellanis. His face was hard-nosed but soft around the cheeks, with a pair of reptilian green eyes which darted to and fro in unnatural directions. However, he moved with none of a turtle's slowness, for he had chosen this form for himself and refused to accept it's weaknesses, just as he'd refused to accept the drawbacks of living in a freshwater region: his lake brimmed with sea turtles, which thrived despite the nature of the lake.

"Hello, Queen," said Dagon, with a hint of contempt in his voice. He'd respected her father, but he'd earned it, and he'd made no secret of his disdain for mortals of such status as her father calling themselves kings. It also somewhat irked Ellanis, but now was not the time for such things. "What do you know," she began, "about the Garda Bird which flew over here?"

"Nothing," he replied, "It just came out of nowhere, possibly on the way to some distant war-front considering it was in phoenix form."

She asked "Could you find out everything you can about it? I suspect some kind of sorcerer summoned it, and if it is then I need to know as much as I can about them."

She didn't enjoy lying to Dagon, but if the Immaculates investigated this and found out what she was doing, it would be much less damning if she conducted an independent investigation. Additionally, it would help her determine who knew anything about her summoning of the Garda Bird.

She then returned home and got about her regular business, staying out of the way of the Immaculates' investigations. As long as she didn't do anything stupid and they didn't get some kind of prophecy, they wouldn't be able to prove anything. As long as they couldn't prove anything they wouldn't go after a member of the local nobility, even one so lowly as Ellanis.

–––––––––––––

Ellanis remembered, just in time, that there was a social event she had been invited to by the new queen Serena Venser. She knew almost nothing about this woman, but supposed it would be best to attend.

So she set off on her boat across the lake to the much larger town on the other side of it, accompanied by her friend Davian. On the way, Davian asked "So why are there Dragon-Bloods here?"

"They're apparently searching for some kind of heretics" replied Ellanis. Though she didn't like lying to Davian, she knew that getting him involved in this would only endanger the both of them. However, as she knew he was not stupid enough to fall for their explanation, she elaborated "I think it has to do with that Garda flyover we had a couple weeks back."

He seemed satisfied at that, and did not inquire further. After docking, they made their way to Serena's villa

The villa, as they approached it, was much as it had appeared when Ellanis had gone there many years ago with her father. The Venser family had long been friends to the Margarens, and her father had once taken her here to learn politics at his feet. She had found it tedious and dull, and her father had soon despaired of ever teaching her politics. Looking back however, she had learned well the tricks and maneuvers of the political game, it had merely been boring, unlike thaumaturgy which engaged and interested her and was something she excelled at.

The villa had a wrought-iron gate in front, opened to reveal a courtyard blanketed by orderly grass and dominated by a large stone fountain. There were doors on either side of the courtyard leading into the building proper, and a third door directly ahead, flung open. Inside was a dining hall where Ellanis could just make out people speaking.

Above the door hung a convex heater shield emblazoned with the symbols of house Venser: a silver gauntlet on a red-and-orange background. Above that an overhang shaded the peripheries of the courtyard.

Entering the hall, Ellanis saw that this was quite the gathering. The debutante wasn't there, but many other nobles and petty kings in the region were. There was the weak king Romero, the even weaker queen Rylla, the honourable ser Aquar and the mighty King Torm, as well as a few others Ellanis did not recognize immediately. One imposing figure who was decidedly absent was old, bold King Cole, who had soured after the Realm invasion and was no merry soul, and whose greed for conquest had combined with Ellanis' own disappearance to cause the Coalition War which had cost so many lives.

As Ellanis sat down, in came a trio of people from a side room. The first was a tall, unremarkable man in an embroidered brown doublet who held the door open for the other two and then fell in step with them after he closed it. The second was warmongering king Cecil, whose desire for conquest had made Ellanis unleash the Garda bird and caused her predicament. The third was a woman in a golden dress, her long red hair done up into dozens of tiny braids, her eyes an unremarkable brown and her figure slender but not overly so. She was speaking to Cecil intently, but quietly. Ellanis suspected that this was the debutante Serena, and got up to make her introduction.

As Cecil took his leave, Ellanis introduced herself with a tip of the head. "Good evening," Ellanis said, "I am queen Ellanis Margaren. Serena, I presume?"

"Yes indeed," she replied, smiling in both mouth and eyes, "I've heard much about you," she continued, leading Ellanis off to a slightly more private quarter of the room, her servant following them.

"And what have you heard?" asked Ellanis, curious of what this new player knew about her.

"That you are a scholarly type, and not a little daring. Much like myself."

Ellanis had learned much since her rash-yet-fortuitous experiment (no doubt what Serena knew her for), but this woman didn't know that, and she intended to keep it that way. If she could have Serena as an ally, great. But first she needed to know her.

"Scholarly, you say? What did you study?"

"I studied philosophy at the university," Serena replied, "though I suspect that was before you were there."

So she had an education, but not a magical one. This suited Ellanis: she had brains enough to be of use, but wasn't learned enough in occult knowledge to guess Ellanis' true nature.

Ellanis wondered if Serena was evaluating her too as Serena asked, "I heard you disappeared, possibly kidnapped by King Cole and I've been wondering for some time now: what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

For just a moment, she didn't logically know why she said that. It had just come out. Over the next second, she justified it to herself as emotion, but a cerebraldecision: she did not want to reveal anything to this woman that might lead her to Ellanis' nature.

By this point, Ellanis had been led into a side room; a large dojo. On the wall lay several racks of weapons: hook-swords, nunchaku, spears, straight swords and, most prominently, a pair of gleaming steel tiger claws on their own stand. In addition, there was a stand holding a red cuirass, though Ellanis doubted it was jade. All the weapons were real, though Ellanis also spied several training weapons pushed aside to an obscure corner of the room. There was also a strange, elaborately carved round door made of ebony which appeared to lead to the outside so far as Ellanis could tell based on the dimensions of the building.

As Serena led Ellanis into this room, she said "So how are you adjusting to being a queen?"

Her tone was too casual, but Ellanis almost felt as though she had known this woman for years. Though she knew that this woman was merely trying to get on her good side, the conversational tone did put her at ease now that she was no longer in "official" mode.

"To be perfectly honest," said Ellanis, "I haven't had much experience with it, but so far it has been largely dull work."

Her silent companion spoke up now with a chuckle "Nine parts drudgery, one part excitement, eh Serena?"

"Indeed," agreed Serena, "though I do so miss the drudgery when the excitement does come."

This further set Ellanis at ease, and when the companion handed her a letter, murmuring "I must depart, but please do consider this," Ellanis did not hesitate to look it over.

_To whom it may concern, _it read, _I would like to–_ and as she watched, the next letters twisted and formed into new words,_ inform you that Serena and I are, like you, Solar Exalted. We know you are one of us because only a Solar can see the true content of this letter; to all others it is a simple offer of friendship and cooperation. I do hope that we can work together in our future endeavours, as those of our kind must stick together lest we be picked off by the myriad enemies surrounding us. Yours, Reza Minos._

_Where oh where do all these people come from? It seems half of Nexus knows or suspects I'm a Solar!_

_No no no, I don't have to let them know. I can simply play dumb, pretend not to have read it. But what's the benefit in that? If I am to try anything, it would be better to have some companions to back me up, would it not? So yes, I'll let them know._

"Well that's… interesting," Ellanis said slowly, "I never thought there were more of us here."

A smile swept over Serena's face, and she exclaimed "Why that's wonderful!" before adding soberly "Do you wish to join us in our quest?"

"And what quest is that?" Ellanis inquired, wondering at the sudden brightening which had swept over the other woman.

"We wish," replied Serena, "to free Nexus from the Realm's yoke."

She considered for a moment. On the one hand, freeing Nexus would hardly unlock greater arcane power. On the other hand, she detested the Realm and knew of the great threat their Dragon-bloods posed. Plus, if she aided these two, they would aid in her endeavours. After a short pause, she responded "Very well, I'll help you in that."

"Alright," said Serena, "We'll meet back here in a couple days. In the meantime, I must make an announcement to the others."

Ellanis left the room, then went to the main hall and ate her fill of the food there. Near the end of the meal, she noticed Serena talking to King Cole (apparently he arrived late) and heard her raise her voice, saying "I want nothing to do with your kind, Cole. You are a warmonger, a bloodthirsty murderer and a fool!" and storming off. Ellanis wondered what could have set her off against Cole, but then saw a faint smile on Serena's lips. So Serena wasn't angry: she was demonstrating to the others her position, splitting everyone present up into factions. And since the memory of the last war was probably fresh in their minds, this was a good move. However, good or not, it was rash. Very rash.

Nonetheless, the die had been cast and Ellanis would have to make her position clear as well. She sauntered over to Cole as he sat, looking thoroughly irritated. He was an old man, his face deeply scored with duelling scars from his younger days and wrinkles from his old age. His eyes were large and brown, his hair thin and grey, and his expression a perpetual scowl. "Come to berate me as well, hmm?"

"Just here to let you know I'm alive," said Ellanis.

"So your father's ridiculous attack on me was unjustified, I see."

"If by "ridiculous attack" you mean "desperate rescue mission which you used as an excuse to plunge the entire region into war", then perhaps. But who had all but announced he was preparing an invasion? Who sent an army of thousands at him in retaliation? Who refused all offers of peace until his army was decimated? In short, who used a misunderstanding as grounds to drown us all in blood?"

She'd been researching what had happened in her absence, and it had been _bloody_. Calling Cole out now would be a good way to set herself firmly on Serena's side, at least on a view from the outside.

Cole shook his head and got up, saying "I didn't come here to be insulted by little girls. I came here to have serious conversations with a queen and to enjoy myself, but it appears that neither of you take being a queen seriously, and since there is no enjoyment to be had at this shabby table, I bid you goodnight."

And with that Cole turned and left the villa.

Serena got up to deliver an address to those present after nearly half an hour of socialization (which Ellanis hardly cared for), but Ellanis made a point of not listening too closely. The voice of a Solar could be a dangerous and indiscriminate weapon against the free will of listeners. Instead, she absorbed herself in her own thoughts.

_Everything is progressing so much faster than I thought it would. Look at her up there. She's saying it so very well, but it's obvious what she's saying to all who are looking for it: she's calling for a revolution. So this is my circle? A wandering warrior, a foolhardy queen and her aide? To defeat The Realm, we will certainly need allies both within Nexus and without. I'd best get working on that…_

AN: I have a few announcements to make!

First of all, props to my friend Ryan (Ellanis' player) for making this game interesting enough to post on fanfiction and for being such an awesome player throughout the game.

Second of all, Elanus' name has been changed to Ellanis as this is the spelling Ryan uses.

Thirdly, I have made a soundtrack for Exalted. There are some lyrical alterations which I may post one of these days, but for now here's the songs which (I think) best fit the events and characters of Exalted, both in general and this specific series (As events get written down, I will update this on those chapters):

The Lion From The North, by Sabaton for Yurgen Kaneko, The Bull Of The North.

Gott Mitt Uns, by Sabaton for Kaneko's defeat of the Tepet Legions (and his Icewalkers in general)

Carolus Rex, by Sabaton for Power-mad solars. AKA the "Why the usurpation happened" song.

The Carolean's prayer, by Sabaton for Tiger warriors, Ashigaru and the badass mortal.

(Really, the Carolus Rex album is full of great Exalted songs)

Nothing's free, by Alice Cooper for Serena's temptation (an event in The Queen, which is Serena's story), and Infernals in general.

Flash of the blade, by Iron Maiden, for the Dawn caste.

You're gonna go far, kid, by The Offspring, for Eclipse, Moonshadow and Fiend caste.


End file.
